Without identifying his targets specifically, Mr Hockey said that corporations must be prevented from “diverting profits earned in Australia away from Australia to no-tax or low-tax jurisdictions.” Google, Apple and Microsoft all faced court cases in Australia last month to counter accusation of diverting profits.

It now seems that the national government will implement new measures to crackdown on the firms, with legislation expected to be introduced tomorrow. Although it still has to be passed in parliament, if successful the ruling would have huge impact on the tax paid by large companies. It is expected that the legislation would allow Australia to tax companies on profit diverted offshore.

The bill would not come into effect until January 2016, but mirrors a similar proposal in the UK to generate increased tax revenue.

Chancellor George Osborne announced the so-called Google Tax back in March in the final budget before the general election. The proposal would see companies face a diverted profits tax and is expected to raise £3.1 billion over the next five years in conjunction with other tax laws.